A behind the scenes look into the secret life of a florist...

Hola! 

Welcome back folks. I thought it was about time for me to take you behind the scenes, and give you a play by play look at the life of a coffee-fuelled florist.  

Whenever I tell people that I am a florist, the number one comment I get is, "oh lovely! I always thought I would like to be a florist!". Which is amazing, and shows there are a lot of people out there who are also drawn to blooms and creativity and nature in the same way that I am. If you have considered becoming a florist, or ever wondered what goes into a bunch of flowers, here is a little sneak peak of a day in the life...

4:30am - First alarm rings. I feel like someone hit me in the head with a brick. Hit snooze in a groggy panic. 

4:35am - Second alarms sounds. I was just dreaming about trying to find a toilet in a field of flowers… turns out I also need to pee. Turn alarm off in a confused state, get up and get ready, my day is just beginning… 

First the essentials. I make myself a cup of coffee, which I will sip on while I get myself ready for the day. I also pick a podcast to listen to while doing my makeup. Usually it will be something that is either business-focused or inspirational, so I gradually get into a motivated mindset. Trust me, I need this. It's going to be a big day! 

Once I am ready, eyeliner perfectly flicked and three coats of mascara (no less!), I will sit down at my computer and take stock of the orders I have for the day. If I have time, I'll take 10 minutes to do a quick guided meditation. Whether I have time is dependant on how many times I hit snooze earlier in the morning... 

5:35am - Grab a puffy jacket (it's cold in a flower fridge!) and head to Fyshwick to meet my flower supplier. I always listen to an audiobook on the drive, again either business-focused or inspirational. Occasionally comedy when I still feel groggy. 

6:00am - Arrive at the supplier, don my puffy jacket and choose my flowers for the day. Have chat to the team about their day, load my car full of blooms and head home. 

6:44am - I'm home! Now to get started: Unload all the blooms into various buckets and start the process of prepping flowers. This means stripping the leaves and thorns off the stems, trimming them, wiring them and sorting them. This takes AGGGESSS and I am usually not done by the time I have to leave for work. 

7:40am - Shit! I'm running late for work. Run out the door to catch the tram to my day job in the corporate world… snooze. 

A brief interlude where I work a regular day job, feeling sleepy and daydreaming about foreign beaches.

 2:45pm - I am home! Thank goodness. Finish prepping flowers and put together my bunches for the day. Take a few hundred selfies with my flowers (my neighbours definitely judge me), and load my car up for delivery.

For the next few hours I drive around Canberra with my bunches of flowers. The best part of this is watching people smile when they receive the flowers, I LIVE for that moment of surprised delight!

Sometimes I find myself running up and down a street on foot, looking a little crazed. This is what happens when people don't put the correct address in. Other times I find myself waiting outside apartment blocks, praying that someone will actually answer the door or their phone, praying that someone is even home. Other times I find myself negotiating with building security, as I try to sweet talk them into helping me reach a lucky employee behind glass gates… Getting flowers to the actual person isn't always easy. 

5:00pm - Home! Time to eat a late lunch, put my feet up and watch some Netflix. I'll update my Instagram and spend some time getting back to messages. 

Another brief interlude where I will switch off entirely. I will go for a walk, hit the gym, read, nap, watch netflix and pig out.

8:30pm - Emails! Don’t forget your emails. My kryptonite and the thing I hate most! I'll sit down at my computer and go through my inbox. Sending quotes, discussing wedding ideas, responding to questions, placing orders with suppliers… etc. etc. etc. I hate emails. 

Afterwards, I will go through my orders for the next day, and write out all the little tags that go on each bunch. I will also enter my numbers into an income and expense spreadsheet and track how my sales have been going. I will check everything is okay on my site, make adjustments and then finally, FINALLY I will switch off.

By switch off, I mean the night owl in me will suddenly wake up and convince me to stay up for a few unproductive hours, that I will definitely regret at 4:30am tomorrow. Regardless, I will read, watch netflix, eat dinner, maybe head to the gym, scroll social media, video call my boyfriend and eventually crawl into bed, ready to do it all again tomorrow! 

I hope you enjoyed that little insight :) 

Love Coco xx